Chemistry Topics to Study for the Miller Analogies Test (MAT)

Luckily, you don't need to be a science major to do well with MAT science analogies. You just need to know the basics about the major natural sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics). Some chemistry terms are familiar because we use them in everyday conversation: "reaction", "catalyst", etc. Others may be a little bit less familiar.

Overall, chemistry analogies on the MAT require knowledge of many terms you encounter in a typical high school chemistry class, plus a familiarity with the who's who of chemists throughout history. These lists fill you in on the most important chemistry terms and figures.

Chemistry terms that appear on the MAT test

Brush up on your chemistry knowledge by studying these terms and their definitions.

Absolute zero: Theoretical temperature, the coldest possible

Acid: Something that reacts with a base, with a pH of less than 7

Activation energy: Energy that must be overcome for a chemical reaction to occur

Aeration: Process in which air is mixed with a liquid

Anion: Negatively charged ion

Atom: Smallest form of a chemical element, made of protons, neutrons, and electrons

Atomic number: Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom

Barometer: Device used to measure atmospheric pressure

Base: Something that reacts with an acid, with a pH of more than 7

Biochemistry: Study of chemical processes in life forms

Boiling: Phase transition of a liquid rapidly vaporizing

Bond: Attraction between atoms that allows chemicals to form

Catalyst: Substance that changes the rate of a reaction

Cation: Positively charged ion

Centrifuge: Device that uses rotation to separate substances

Chemical reaction: Process that changes one chemical substance to another

Colloid: Mixed substances that are evenly dispersed

Combustion: Burning with fuel, heat, and oxygen

Compound: Pure substance with at least two chemical elements

Condensation: Change from a gas to a liquid

Conductor: Material that allows electricity to flow

Deposition: Settling of particles in a solution

Electrolyte: Electrically conducive substance

Electron: Elementary particle with no charge

Entropy: Even distribution of a system

Freezing: Phase transition of a liquid to a solid

Frequency: Number of events per unit of time

Gas: State of matter in which particles have no definite volume

Geochemistry: Chemistry of the Earth's composition

Indicator: Compound added to a solution that changes color depending on acidity

Inorganic compound: Nonbiological, or lacking carbon and hydrogen

Insulator: Material that resists the flow of electricity

Ion: Atom that has gained or lost an electron

Ionization: Process of converting an atom into an ion

Kinetics: Study of the rates of chemical processes

Lattice: Arrangement of atoms or molecules in a crystal

Liquid: State of matter that has a fixed volume but not shape

Melting: Phase change from a solid to a liquid

Mole: Measurement that contains 6.02x1023 units

Molecule: Neutral group of atoms held together by bonds

Neutron: Neutral part of an atom's nucleus

Nucleus: Center of an atom, made of protons and electrons

Organic chemistry: Chemistry of carbon-based compounds

pH: Measure of the acidity of a solution

Plasma: State of matter similar to a gas, in which some particles are ionized

Precipitate: Formation of a solid in a solution

Proton: Positive part of an atom's nucleus

Quark: Elementary particle of matter

Reagent: Substance that is added to a system to get a reaction

Sol: Suspension of solids in a liquid

Solid: State of matter in which molecules resist movement

Solute: The part of the solution that is put into the solvent

Solvent: The part of the solution that dissolves the solute

Sublimation: Phase transition from a solid to a gas

Triple point: Temperature and pressure at which three states of matter exist simultaneously

Valence electron: Outermost electrons of an atom

Vaporization: Phase change from a liquid to a gas

Viscosity: Measure of resistance of a fluid, or thickness

Yield: Amount of a product made in a chemical reaction

Important figures in the field of chemistry

The following lists important people in the chemistry field you should become familiar with before taking the MAT.

Avogadro, Amedeo: Italian scientist who worked in molecular theory

Curie, Marie: French-Polish chemist known for work in radioactivity

Lavoisier, Antoine: French father of modern chemistry

Lewis, Gilbert: American chemist who discovered the covalent bond

McMillan, Edwin: American chemist who first produced the transuranium element